(Picture: Pelargonium)
David Hobson, In the Garden
Friday, Dec. 16, 2011
In the garden: Seed catalogues make my spirits bright
Christmas cards have been arriving in the mail, along with the usual bills, setting up an emotional conflict, but fortunately, I’ve also received a few seed catalogues that support the good will of seasonal greetings.
There’s nothing like a colourful catalogue packed with spring dreams to lighten the mood during the short, dark days of December.
Even the few plants I have been growing indoors are feeling the effects of SAD — seasonal affective disorder. Only a few more days to the equinox, I tell the lonely pelargonium, and then it can stop straining for the light.
I may be feeling the effects, too, but thanks to the seed catalogues I can now spend quality time browsing through page after page describing flower, fruit and vegetable seeds. I could browse online, too, as there’s a website for every seed company in the world — plus countless seed-swapping gardeners who are willing to mail seed for almost every imaginable rare plant.
The digital world has rapidly changed the way we shop. And plants and seed are not excluded from that change. We may eventually see the demise of the printed catalogues as all seed merchants have an online version; in fact, some catalogues I’ve received already have a QR (quick response) code to direct smart phones to the website.
If you’re new to gardening and have never ordered from a catalogue, then it’s unlikely you’ll be getting one in the mail, but a phone call, letter, or email to a seed company will get you on their mailing list. Contact information can be easily Googled at a home computer or at the local library, where assistance is available. The big names for seeds in Canada include reputable companies such as: McFayden, Stokes, Veseys, Dominion, McKenzie, and of course, Ontario Seed.
It’s never been easier to buy seed, although there are plenty of places in the country beyond the internet and there are gardeners who simply prefer to be disconnected from the digital world. I am comfortable with it and yet I still enjoy flipping through the paper versions, highlighting the new, the unusual, and the reliable, knowing full well that I don’t have room in my garden for most of it.
Whether you purchase online or from a catalogue, here are a few tips for beginners:
Just like fashion photography, flowers and vegetables in catalogues are shown in the best light possible. And, like the models and celebrities portrayed in magazines, blooms and blossoms all look their best. Every petal and leaf, whether flower or vegetable, looks perfect without the slightest blemish — not a bug in sight.
There’s also the question of scale. I doubt you’ll see the flower on a forget-me-not looking as though it’s as large as a peony, but perspective in a photograph can be misleading and actual measurements of flower heads aren’t always given.
Hmm, a petunia that looks the same size as a peony? I don’t think so. This is where it helps to have a reference book or plant encyclopedia to verify details that may be lacking.
Height and spread are usually described, but keep in mind that these are under ideal conditions that your own garden may not provide. Variations in soil type, light, water and nutrients will all have an effect.
The other important thing to note is the growing zone number — indicating what plants will grow in different parts of North America. Our own area is considered zone five, so perennials that are rated to zones with a higher number than five will not be hardy here, and even those rated as suitable for zone five may be challenged some winters.
As I’ve discovered too often, as well, blue flowers don’t always turn out to be quite as blue in the garden as they were in the seed catalogue . . . but I can dream.
